All Dressed Up
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: Cedric has to explain the appearance of Sofia's dress in his closet when Roland stops by to ask a favor. (Follow up to "The Pink Theory" as hinted at/suggested by/requested by That ManX and agentgiggles27, and the dress was also mentioned by Royal Detective. :D)


All Dressed Up

Summary: Cedric has to explain the appearance of Sofia's dress in his closet when Roland stops by to ask a favor.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sofia the First! :) Too bad…Cedric NEVER would have regressed in this past episode. *grumble, grumble* lol

A/N: Well…some of you were curious, and that got me curious… And who better to find the dress than the King of Enchancia? :D Cedric's explanation is bound to be interesting, no? By the way, the title is supposed to be a play on the saying "All dressed up and nowhere to go," except this time it's supposed to be sort of sarcastic I guess. Lol I don't know.

Cedric yawned tiredly. It had been quite an evening. With Sofia gone to her banquet at school, he'd actually done work on his own. He didn't realize exactly _how_ much work his apprentice helped with until he didn't have her there. That's not to say he didn't enjoy his time of solitude or anything; it's just that she'd become such a part of his everyday life that it was hard to focus on his tasks without her there to do whatever role she'd been assigned.

He sighed and glanced at Wormwood, who—for whatever reason—was looking into a mirror. One minute he looked like himself, and the next minute he'd slide on some bird-sized spectacles. Cedric chuckled, not really sure what his raven was planning to do with the accessory, but glad to see him enjoying himself.

"You know," he began, getting the bird's attention, "if you do happen to wear those things more often, Baileywick would have a twin."

Wormwood rolled his eyes. "They're my _reading_ spectacles," he mumbled, annoyed. His eyes weren't what they used to be, and the darkness of the tower sometimes caused a strain on his eyes when he wanted to read. Cedric had taken steps to lighten the place lately, but he still needed some extra help.

"I'm just kidding, Wormy," Cedric relented, brushing his fingers along his companion's feathers. He chuckled as Wormwood responded by nuzzling his hand a bit. "They actually make you look older…er—more mature, I guess." He grinned. "Though I must say you're already pretty mature for a raven…"

"Naturally," Wormwood responded with a content smile on his face. "I'm not a _crow_, after all."

A knock came upon the door, making Cedric look up. "Who is it?" The knock sounded different, so he knew it wasn't Sofia…

"Cedric," Roland called, sounding rather tired himself. "May I come in?"

"Oh, um, yes, Your Majesty!" He quickly cleared his table of the mess of spells and other devices before hurrying over and letting the king inside. "How may I help you this evening, Your Majesty?"

The king chuckled as he stepped inside. "You know, I nearly forgot how to get here…"

Wormwood huffed and flew to his perch. "Big surprise," he quipped.

Cedric shot his friend a look to silence his caws before turning expectantly to the other man.

"Oh, yes, I just wanted to tell you that the children's school sent word that they need a speaker in a few months for the end of the year. Baileywick would be going, but I forgot I promised him a scheduled family outing with his brother the day that this is supposed to occur… So I was wondering if you wouldn't mind stepping in for him and being the speaker to represent Enchancia."

"M-Me?" Cedric blinked. He'd never been a speaker for any occasion. Usually it was a performer, which he often despised. But this was different. He'd get to talk about his craft and build it up to be as grand as he wanted. "I don't know, Your Majesty…"

"Sofia would appreciate it," Roland hinted, knowing how close the two were and brazenly using that knowledge to his advantage. He smiled encouragingly. "Come on, Cedric. It would get you away from this place for a while. When is the last time you took a vacation?"

"…It wouldn't really be a vacation," he mumbled quietly, sure that the king hadn't heard him. "Um, I don't think I _have_ taken a vacation, King Roland…now that you mention it."

"Well, then! Shall I schedule your appearance?" He smiled brightly, something James had clearly inherited from him.

"Very well, Your Majesty…" He grabbed his wand from the table and waved it around lightly. "I suppose I'll need to prepare some spells as well?"

"Well, it wouldn't hurt, of course… But mostly you just talk to the kids about why you're a sorcerer, the good about being one, and so on and so forth. I think you'll do just fine."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." He actually smiled. "That means a lot." He gasped when his wand slipped from his hand and shot a blast of magic at the door to his closet, casting it ajar. He sighed and picked the wand up from the floor before blinking when he saw Roland's surprised stare aimed at his closet. "Your Majesty?"

Roland pointed toward the closet. "Um, Cedric… Is there a reason Sofia's dress is in your closet?"

Cedric's eyes widened as he looked at the cursed clothing item. '_Well…that's just perfect_.' "Um, actually, there's a _very_ good reason her dress is hanging in there, Your Majesty…" He laughed nervously and cleared his throat. "She, uh… She asked my opinion on her choices of dresses for her banquet tonight, and I told her the blue one was a good choice. So she didn't choose that pink one."

Roland nodded before frowning in confusion. "So…why is it with you then?"

"I told her that…uh…" He couldn't very well tell the king the actual reason behind the dress. Explaining the conversation he'd had with the princess would sound ridiculous and highly suspicious to the king. And he'd probably get offended at the pink theory he'd come up with for whatever reason, and he'd get blamed for something yet again. "I-I told her that I would…enchant that dress for her." He closed his eyes briefly, realizing what he'd probably just gotten himself into.

"Oh! Well, that was very nice of you." He chuckled. "For her end-of-the-year celebration or something like that?"

"Yes," Cedric drawled out with a strained smile, "something like that…"

"All right. I was going to say, I didn't think the dress would fit you—nor was it your color at all. Even if you _could_ wear it, you'd be all dressed up with nowhere to go." He chuckled warmly and turned to leave.

"Heh-heh," Cedric mimicked lightly, glaring at the back of the man's head and making a fist behind his back to control his annoyance. "Good one, Your Majesty…"

"Hmm, oh, and Cedric?" He looked back toward the sorcerer, who now held a completely innocent and focused look. "Do you think you can change the color of that dress before you enchant it?"

"Well, of course, Your Majesty, but may I ask why?"

Roland shrugged. "Every time Sofia wears pink, it seems like something bad happens."

Wormwood gaped at the king, not believing that _he_ had picked up on that.

"Good night, and thanks again, Cedric." Roland left the workshop, shutting the door behind him.

Cedric released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding before shutting the closet door and tossing a glance to Wormwood, who stared back at him. "That was close."

Wormwood cawed in response before yawning and settling onto his perch.

The Royal Sorcerer sighed before yawning again. "I guess I'll be getting some rest now. Good night, Wormy." He left the workshop behind, along with a quiet raven who'd already drifted off to dream land.

The end

A/N: I imagine Roland to likely make joking remarks without realizing they're actually _not_ funny. And with the comments aimed at Cedric, oh, that's even better. Haha. :) I hope this was enjoyable. I'll try to get out as many stories/chapters of "The Ties of Friendship" as I can before going back to school on Tuesday. We'll see what happens. Good night, all! ~AquaTurquoise


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